I would like to buy a different stove so I talked to my wife. Yep I know shouldnt of said anything! So I'm gonna try to get this serdiac running right. It seems to me like I am getting way to much draft. So I will pick up a baro draft. When I install it I will check all gaskets and clean everything and heat exchangers. I can only get about 3-4 hours of burntime without cleaning. That is with the draft shut on the unit. I know I am all over the place, still might go buy that chubbie! Also I did install one of those dreaded manual pipe dampers and I choke that down and I still get no burn time. If I could get this running right it would be a big help. Tell me what you think. Thanks

Buying a stove (new or used) is a big decision and one wifey poo should be in on to some degree I would think! After all as well all know if the wifey ain't happy the couch feels extra lumpy.

If you pick up the Chubby you can always sell it later and you might even make some $$$$ on it. They are great stoves.

Try the baro and check and replace the gaskets. I don't know much about your current stove so I can't tell you what you should expect. But 3-4 hours doesn't seem right to me. You very well may find a baro and new gaskets solve your problem and I hope they do. No point in spending more than you need to I say!

Thank you johnb. I didnt even check that out. Im an electrition and I had a thought in my head that it was an expensive meter like a fluke brand of meter we use in the trade. I just keep learning on this site. If it wasn't for help from you guys this"Vermonster" would be very lost. I am a total greenhorn to coal burning. I will get this figured out I tell you!

My stove was running too hot along with burning a lot of coal when I first installed it. The person I bought it from was selling it because it was too hot for him. Turns out the ash pan door was loose causing it. This was a simple fix.

My point is that you may want to figure out what's wrong with your current set up before buying something else.

Last edited by skobydog on Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I agree scobydog. I think what i need to do is let the fire go out and clean everything. Maybe when I set it up I overlooked something. Just seems to me it gets "ashbound" real quick. Like I have to shake it at least every 4 hours so It will make heat and keep running. Is ashbound a word? I might even get famous in my coal journey! lol!

Vermonster wrote: I just keep learning on this site. If it wasn't for help from you guys this"Vermonster" would be very lost. I am a total greenhorn to coal burning. I will get this figured out I tell you!

Don't feel bad, I was a greenhorn 2 months ago, now I'm just a newbie. You'll learn fast (or freeze!). I'm an exVermontster having spent my first 12 years up in Newport before the parents moved south & dragged me along. I also have one of those Fluke meters you mentioned except mine measures temperature & I use it to monitor the thermocouples in my coffee roaster & one of my espresso machines.

If you do pick up the manometer check out the installation photos on here for tips on using a section of brake line as a heat proof take off.

Relax,Vermonster,you have Coal Attention Deficit Disorder. It's very curable. Some of the Symptoms are: Ping-Pong Posting(Not letting everyone help you out on posted questions and giving some of those thoughts time to take effect) which also displays or presents with the desire to fire up another Post Thread in a different direction. Also very prevalent is the mad desire to dive in with boundless energy and enthusiasm,only to find that choice not producing the desired effect,and subsequent abandonment of the original choice and equipment. There are some easy and simple cures as I know them.Step 1,look down at your Vermonster Control Panel. On the right hand side is the "Chill" Button. Hit it now. This will keep you from wiping out Yourself,Your Wife,and Your Buddies. They can only haul in and out of your Home so many Coal Stoves before they stop picking up the phone. Step 2,there's this Surdiac in your Basement. Go down there and cut a Deal with it. Tell it that you're going to learn everything you can about it,how it lives and breathes,and then give it a hug and go to work with it. It's going to be alright! You're going to be a New Man in the morning! How do I know all of this,and have the nerve to tell you? I see a lot of this,and I've had it. Guys here have helped me and were patient trying to help me. Don't be afraid of Success with that Surdiac. If you've got the scratch laying around,then by all means,get a good used Chubby and put it in your Reserve Coal Stove Project Area 51. Make sure you're not acting like a sneaky SOB behind the Wife's back. Having a warm home without going broke serves her also,so see what you can do.......Good Luck,My Friend,and it's gonna be alright !

I just noticed something. When I do a shakedown I will empty the 2 ashpans. When I go to do another shakedown the ashpans are still empty. It seems that the coal ash will not naturally fall between my grates. I have read that the euro stoves like a low ash coal. I have a bag of blaschak rice coal here that I started out with. It is rice sized and the wrong coal for the stove. But that coal has a nice dry look to the coal. I got the right sized pea coal for the stove the other day at agway. I have been using this coal and it is kimmel brand coal. The kimmel coal has kind of a greasy texture to it. What if i try some blaschak pea coal in it? The blaschak coal does not have the greasy texture like the kimmel coal. When I got home from work today I could not see any red coals, also the 2 ashpans that I left clean this morning had no new ash. The ash did fall through when I shook it and it took off running good. Could it be that I would need to use blaschak coal that is dry looking compared to the kimmel coal that is like a greasy texture? Again I have read that the euro stoves like low ash coal. I think I might be on to something?! I hope!

Is that Kimmel's oiled for dust control? Were all your grates,I mean the entire shakedown grate system moving correctly when you'd move the handle? Something's really rotten in Denmark,as you should get much longer burn times,as well as produce ash in that pan. You may also want to read through joeq's "Diary of a Surdiac" as he's had a lot of post interaction regarding his 513.....Carry-On !